The Mitford Murders was my first read for 20 Books of Summer. I have been looking forward to this book because I am interested in both the Mitford family and the time setting. I recently read two biographies of the Mitford sisters and I am currently reading a book of their letters. This story starts after the end of World War I, and includes a lot of references to the effects of the war on those who participated and their families. I found this book to a very good read and it lived up to my expectations.
Louisa Cannon, a very young woman living in poverty with her mother in London, wants to improve her life, but even more important she wants to escape her abusive uncle. A friend helps her get an interview for the job of nursemaid for the Mitford family; at the time they have five children, with one on the way. Louisa soon settles into her new position with the Mitfords under the guidance of Nanny Blor.
Later, Louisa learns that Florence Nightingale Shore, goddaughter of the original Florence Nightingale, was killed on a train on the same night that Louisa was traveling to Asthall Manor. The murdered woman was a good friend of Nanny Blor's sister, and 16-year-old Nancy, the eldest Mitford daughter, takes a great interest in the case.
The story has a lot of characters from real life; I think the author did a good job of portraying those characters and creating a fictional story around them. On the other hand, it took me a while to warm up to the main characters, Louisa and Guy Sullivan. On her railroad trip to Asthall Manor, Louisa had met Guy Sullivan of the Brighton and South Coast Railway Police. He was involved with the initial investigation of Florence Shore's murder. Louisa learns more of Florence's background via friends of the Mitford family. The story goes back and forth between Louisa's experiences with the Mitford family and Guy's investigation of Florence Shore's death. Guy does not think her death is due to a robbery but his superiors give up on the case for lack of evidence. He continues to investigate, against his boss's wishes. Together Louisa and Guy discover more about the murdered woman and her friends and relatives, but their search for evidence goes on for over two years, which is unusual in a mystery novel. During that time we get to know them better and share their trials and tribulations.
I enjoyed reading this book from beginning to end. The characters and the story were all good, and I thought the depiction of the time period was excellent. Towards the end there are big surprises and a good bit of tension.
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Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2018 (orig. pub. 2017)
Length: 415 pages
Format: Trade Paper
Series: Mitford Murders #1
Setting: UK
Genre: Historical Mystery
Source: Purchased in December 2022.
18 comments:
I've been wondering about this one for a while - the fact that you clearly enjoyed it makes me want to look for it, especially as I'm interested in the family like you. I'll see if my library has it today.
I am not sure I would enjoy a book, which made too much use of real people to create a story. I have found books like that difficult in the past. My biggest "for instance" would be RAGTIME where Doctorow used many real people to fill the story. It was a little icky to me.
I really like that time setting so I'll have to see if my library has a copy of this one.
This does sound interesting, Tracy. Like Patti, I don't generally go for fiction in which real historical figures have roles. That said, though, it can be done well, and I can see how this would draw a person in. I may have to try it....
Cath, I did not even realize that this series existed until last year, and I wasn't sure I would like it. But I am glad I did read it. My opinion was that she portrayed the family well, based on the biographies I had read, and their roles were believable. Yet the Mitford bits did not overwhelm the mystery. And it was well written.
Patti, in general I have the same reluctance to real people used as characters in fiction. Of course, it depends on the situation, but in this case they are fairly prominent. The story does not center around the Mitford family but they are used a lot. I was comfortable with the way it was handled, but I was a bit bothered to find how much the story of the death of Florence Nightingale Shore was changed, as she was a real person also. But I did not know that until after I read the book.
I am sure other readers also had problems with the use of a real family too, and how it was handled.
Lark, I have not read nearly as much fiction about the years after World War I as I have about World War II. I learned a lot from this book, and am encouraged to find more books set at this time.
Margot, I was very happy that this book handled the Mitford family so well, at least from my point of view. The series is set up to have each of the six sisters with a connection to a murder, for a total of six books. I don't how well that will work, but I will be reading the next one to find out.
I find the Mitford sisters fascinating, well the whole family really, and this one sounds like both fun and an easy way to get some perspective (at least to this one author's way of thinking) of their personalities and sibling relationships.
I agree, Sam, the whole family is interesting. I think this author's depiction of the parents is very good. And of course most of the children were very young in this one. I would like to know more about Tom also.
Hi Tracy, The Mitford Murders sounds really good and when I saw the name Fellowes I checked and found that Jessica is the niece of Julian Fellowes the creator of Downton Abbey. I have caught an episode or two of Downton Abbey and it seems like a similar story, the Mitford Sisters and Lady Mary and her sisters. In both cases you have aristocratic young women who were raised to lead the life their ancestors led but the 20th century intervened. I have to read the Mitford Sisters biography to learn more.
Oh gosh...she was a real person and that was a real murder? I had no idea. I encountered the murder of Florence Nightingale's goddaughter a few years ago as a plot device in an Agatha Christie spin off of sorts, Agatha and the Truth of Murder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_and_the_Truth_of_Murder
Hmm...
Kathy, I knew that Jessica Fellowes was related to Julian Fellowes but not the exact relationship. She has published several nonfiction books about Downton Abbey. We watched Downton Abbey for the first two or three seasons but did not continue after that. I do recommend reading a biography of the sisters. The Lovell biography includes more about the younger years of the children and more about the parents lives.
Susan, I had not heard of that film, it sounds very good. And very interesting that it also creates a story around a fictional solving of Florence Nightingale Shore's death. Thanks so much for including that link about the film.
This does sound interesting (I am another interested in the Mitford sisters) and I like that it took place over a longer period of time. How I miss Downton Abbey! I even enjoyed the movies although they did not have much substance (still delightful).
Constance, I found it to be interesting and entertaining. It is more realistic that it took the two protagonists a while to solve the case with no real resources and having to actually make some kind of living at the same time. I found the portrayals of the Mitfords realistic and had no problems with the fictionalization of their lives. The depiction of their lives at Asthall Manor and the other places they visited was good. I looked at Asthall Manor online and it was gorgeous and huge. Just amazing.
I would have liked to continued watching Downton Abbey but when we were watching it streaming wasn't like it is now and we just dropped it. But I did like the first season or two better than the last one we watched.
I like the graceful leap of the woman on this cover!
In my previous job, the 5 lawyers went to lunch together every day, walking a mile each way to an upscale deli. At first I found this quite odd but the place we worked was so disagreeable it became the high point of the day. Downtown was still on and everyone was a fan except the older lawyer who was our boss. On Mondays, he listened so patiently as we discussed it that I borrowed Season 1 from the library and offered it to him. He said worriedly that his wife might not be interested but the next weekend they watched the first two season and had soon caught up with us.
Constance, initially I did not like the cover of The Mitford Murders (and I still don't like the title). I thought it was too cutesy or something. But it grew on me and the depiction of Asthall Manor in the background is pretty good.
Downton Abbey is very addictive and has lots of good actors. Someday I may go back and watch more of the series. I like that story of the older lawyer enjoying Downton Abbey.
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